Greetings from the Neshoba County Fair

 Al Hopkins, Republican candidate for state attorney general, prompts supporters to join him in shouting out “your fired” as he criticizes the current Democratic office holder, during his speech at the Neshoba County Fair in Philadelphia, Miss., Wednesday. The fair is one of the largest political gatherings in Mississippi, a must for candidates seeking statewide office. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

By Patsy R. Brumfield
Daily Journal News Editor

PHILADELPHIA  – Folks, I’ve been a lot hotter here than today. I guess you can take that any way you want.

Today’s the first political speaking day at Mississippi’s annual houseparty in the heart of Neshoba County’s red clay. I’ve been here since about 9:30 a.m., and I’ve gone from delighted to see old friends to hiding from old antagonists. But it’s a day away from The Word Factory, so what’s not to like?

I could wax on about a gillion things, but the simplest approach, as warm as I am, is to give you some snippets of what I’ve seen so far.

– Paul Leslie Riley, Republican candidate for Ag commissioner, knows how it feels when Elvis has left the building. He was unlucky enough to have drawn the
speaking slot right after Attorney General Jim Hood. Hood, a Chickasaw County native, had a vigorous crowd cheering him on and they all left  the pavilon as soon
as he was done. I’m not sure if Riley wouldn’t have just been better off to sing.

– I think I saw the first Neshoba dirty trick of the 2007 campaign. As I joined a long line of vehicles trying to get to the fairgrounds this morning, we proceeded down the roadway at about 15 mph behind a small truck loaded with Phil Bryant signs. Aha!, I
thought. That Charlie Ross is some kind of smart campaign cookie, sending somebody out there to stir us antsy drivers against his Republican opponent for lieutenant governor. Good staff work.

– Most spirited speeches: Jamie Franks, Democrat for lieutenant governor, and Jacob Ray, Democrat for auditor. I knew Franks had it in him on the stump, but Ray got an early crowd revved up in his first appearance at the vaulted political meeting. I’d be remiss if I failed to admit that I’ve known Jacob since before he was born – his mother and I grew up together on Burke Street in McComb.

– Al Hopkins, Republican for attorney general, and Charlie Ross may have been the weakest speakers in the top-office stumps. Hopkins, who hails from Northeast
Mississippi, sounded like he’d never been told what he was suppose to do at Neshoba by a very slow start-up and then choreographed his audience supporters into shouting in unison at appropriate places in his remarks. Don’t try this at home. He never really said what he would do and just tried to make Jim Hood look bad. But with this repeatedly orchestrated chorus of “Fire him!” whatever point he was trying to make got lost in the dance.  Ross, who never has been a dynamic speaker, needs to pick it up a bit if he plans to out-talk Phil Bryant. All I remember was his promising to be Haley Barbour’s “wing man” who wouldn’t turn the Senate into a clone of Speaker Billy McCoy’s House. Ross also spent a lot of breath bashing the now defunct anti-smoking The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi and Bryant’s role as a board member.

– Seen at the Fair: Former Secretary of State Dick Molpus, sweating just like he did in the old campaign days. Former senator Tim Johnson, now a Madison County supervisor, willing to pose for a photo and striking his usual Elvis pose. Lafayette County supervisors’ board president “Jumping” Johnny Morgan (I call him that because he was a cheerleader when we were at Ole Miss).

Charles Pickering, patriarch of the political family, walking around almost anonymously. Judge Marcus Gordon, who presided over the Edgar Ray Killen trial.
Jackson’s Malcolm White, owner of Hal and Mal’s watering hole in Jackson and now director of the Mississippi Arts Commission. Terry Cassreino, former Gulf Coast reporter and now information guru for the Mississippi Democrats. Melvin Tingle of MPB outdoor sports fame.

– Phil Bryant seemed to be taking a piece of history from Moses, who reluctantly answered God’s call to be spokesman for the Israelites. Bryant said for about a year, God had been trying to convince him to run for lieutenant governor, but Bryant said he nad repeatedly resisted. I think he said Tupelo’s AFA chief Donald Wildmon made the final, successful pitch. Bryant needs to work on his tan.

Check out Daily Journal Jackson Bureau reporter Bobby Harrison’s real news report from here in Thursday and Friday’s newspapers.